Wrist watch



March 15, 1932. Q p. DIKE 1,849,482

WRI ST WATCH Filed April 25, 1928 Zh vela af.-

@C3/ E694 `l@ Wc WM Patented Mar. 15, 1932 PATENT QFFC GEORGE 1?. DIKE, 0F BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS WRIST WATCH Application filed April 25,

The present invention is an improvement on the wrist watch shown and described in my prior application tiled October 18, 1926, Serial No. 142,298. In that application there is shown a wrist watch having a. watch body and two arms secured to the watch body, the ends of the arms being free or spaced apart from each other on the opposite sides of the wearers wrist, one of the arms being secured to I0 the watch body by a locking hinge. The arms are preferably made of Celluloid or other material which can be shaped to lit the wearers wrist and in the form shown in the drawings of that'application a positive locking hinge lf? is provided of such a character that the watch cannot be removed from the wearers wrist without operating the latch which locks the hinge.

While a positive lock for the hinge is probably the most satisfactory, particularly for mens watches and for watches which are to be subjected to rough usage, a positive lock is not necessary under certain conditions particularly for ladies watches. Accordingly I have devised another non-positive type of device to prevent the watch arm from opening, and this has certain important and distinct advantages. It is less expensive to construct and less bulky and cumbersome.

Accordingly my present invention has for its object to provide a wrist watch having a pair of open ended arms one of said arms being hinged to the watch body and held in normal or closed position by a device which yields when a predetermined amount of pressure is applied which is greater than that which is likely to be applied by the wearers arm in ordinary use. The wrist watch embodying K my invention is very simplel and economical to construct and has no moving parts in the locking mechanism. Itis therefore less likely to get out of order. It is also capable of construction in very small compass and is pan 4;, ticularly adapted for ladies watches which are now made in very small sizes.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawan ings and the novel features thereof will be 1928. Serial No. 272,751.

pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the close of this specification.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a watch embodying my invention, the movable arm being shown in open position in dotted lines.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the watch shown in Fig. 1.

i Fig. 3 is a section on line looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a1 perspective view of the hinge 66 and latch showing the parts with the arm in open position.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5, Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6, Fig. 3.

In the drawings at A is shown a watch body, at B a fixed arm and at C a movable arm. The arms ar-e preferably of Celluloid, tortoise shell or some other material which can be bent to fit the wearers wrist. On the side of the watch body toward the movable arm is a lug or projection 11 forming onehalf of the hinge, and on the movable arm is a latch casing 14 having similar lugs or projections 12 and 13 and forming the other 75 half of the hinge. Within two lugs is a pintle or hinge member 15, see Fig. 6. In practice the latch casing is shaped to have a contour like that of the other side of the watch body and serves as a connection with the Celluloid arm C. 'Ihe latch casing has two downwardly depending edges or flanges as clearly seen in Fig. 4 and between them is placed a cross member 16 under which the end 17 of the Celluloid arm projects, being 85 thus in part held in place.

The cross member 16 also carries one or more projecting male latch members 18 which are secured thereto by riveting their inner ends or in some other suitable manner as is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. These members are conveniently ball-shaped but it will be understood that I do not limit myself to this construction as othersv may be more suitable under some circumstances. Secured to the edge of the watch body A is a female latch member 19 which is preferably in outline of the same general shape as the space within the flanges of member 14. This latch mem- 10! she, Fig. 1,

ber is slotted to form tongues a, b, and holes c, d to receive the male latch members 18. The tongues yield sufciently to permit thespherical ends of the male members to enter and thereafter to close in slightly on the necks of the male members with the surface of the latch plate 19in contact with the adjacent surface of the cross member 16.

I am aware that spring latch plates cooperm ating with round headed male members have been commonly used;for. wrist watch straps,

corset snaps and the like, but I believe myself Y y y to be the rst to realize the possibility-oi1v using this type of snap in connection with a hinge for the purpose of lockingthe same in 'arixed position. Furthermore, while I prefer to employ .spring locking means for the hinge comprising ingeneral a male and female locking memberone of which is yielding Vtoperijnit the entrance of the male memberI do not limit myself to this construction since my invention in its broadest aspect includes any yielding non-positive locking means, ,for locking Athe movable arm of a Wrist watch of the type shown in my prior application as distinguished from the positive locking means shown therein. It will also be understood that by positive locking means, I intend devices which cannot be opened Vby pressure on the free end of the arm without breaking the latch, while by Vnon-positive means, I intend devices which yield and permitthe .arm to swing when a predetermined pressure is reached.

What I claim is:

l. A Wrist watch havinga watch body, an arm hinged to said watch body, two cooperating latch members, one on thek arm and the other on the watch body, one of said latch members carrying a male member yand the other carrying a female member capable of yielding frictional engagement; with each other andv operable Vin either 'direction by pressure on the arm to secure vthe arm in fixed position or release` it.

2. A Wrist watch comprising a watch body, an arm Xed to one'end'of said body, a second arm hinged to the opposite end of the body, and a latch member fixed to said watch body at said last mentioned end-adapted to cooperate with said hinged arm to lock the arm against swingingmovement relativeto the body Vwhen the partsv are-brought together, Asaid latch member. comprising a springmetal plate slotted to provide -resilient tongues extending in opposite directions and spaced. to provide a slot therebetween, and said movable arm having a rigid stud adapted to enter Vsaid' slot to lock the parts together.`

` In testimony whereof I af'ur my signature. H

' GEORGE P. Dimi. 

